[Idyllchat] Heartland safety and phones

[Joan Herriges]

Your comment regarding the reluctance of your 16 year old teenager taking a 
trip to CH made me smile.  On many of our trips to the Heartland it is not 
been unusual to see the "I'm going to be sooo bored" teenage look upon 
arrival.  Then at departure, the complete turnaround--dragging them to the 
airport, discussing their adventures with other travelers.  Switzerland 
spins its web and another traveler is converted!  Int'l football (soccer) is 
a great icebreaker.  Happy New Year Idyllers!  Joan.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Benjamin Gilson" <benjamingilson at mac.com>
To: <IdyllChat at lists.untours.com>
Cc: "Benjamin Gilson" <benjamingilson at mac.com>
Sent: Monday, January 01, 2007 3:25 PM
Subject: [Idyllchat] Heartland safety and phones


> You must have GSM phones, not the US standard.  My wife and I, 3 
> children, 5 grandchildren--celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary in 
> Sachseln, using three separate houses this past July. We had diverse 
> interests.  The cell phones were invaluable. We used Mobal, an 
> international phone, got it on the internet for $100.  We can put it  in 
> the drawer and let it wait for the next trip, no monthly charges, 
> although the phone charges for the idle teenage chat did add up!  I  now 
> have T-Mobile, which also has GSM technology.  My son bought a  GSM phone 
> in the Zurich airport, and that worked fine.  The "where  are you," "I'm 
> here," "-meet you at-"needs were met completely.
>
> In terms of safety, Sachseln is like my midwestern childhood -- go 
> anywhere, pick-up ball games, everyone watches out for the kids--but 
> expects you to learn how to use the trains and buses.  The through- town 
> highway traffic takes some attention. My son in law organized  daily 
> football (soccer) matches each evening at the local school  yard.  Swiss, 
> Albanian, American, Czech -- all played with no  aggression, but 
> remarkable skill.  There was a teenage boy who could  do "the bicycle" I 
> think it's called--kicking overhead and backwards-- 
> and yet would purposely miss blocking a goal by a 6 year old.   My 16 
> year old grand daughter, who had to be dragged to Switzerland,  offered to 
> stay when we were leaving Sachseln.   Back in  Massachusetts she knocked 
> the other kids dead with her "bicycle."  Enjoy your Heartland trip.  This 
> was our third trip to the Heartland/ Oberland area.   Ben Gilson
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